Creed consists of Brett Hestla, Mark Tremonti (guitars, bass), Scott Phillips (drums, keyboards), Scott Stapp (vocals).
Creed was a post-grunge/ hard rock group, that became one of the biggest selling rock bands of the late '90s and early 2000s. While real grunge groups were experimenting with new sounds, Creed adapted grunge into a commercial style, and went with it selling millions of albums. This success did not gain them much critical acclaim however; Creed were slammed for their formulaic sound, and dogged with accusations by critics of being derivative of famed Seattle grunge band Pearl Jam, as some believe Creed lead singer Scott Stapp's vocals sound virtually identical to Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder. Notably they inspired a slew of copycats like Puddle of Mudd that embraced the commercial grunge sound.
Creed was dubbed a Christian rock band, though frontman Scott Stapp has disagreed with the label: "No, we are not a Christian band. A Christian band has an agenda to lead others to believe in their specific religious beliefs. We have no agenda!"
Creed originally came together in Tallahassee, Florida in 1995, as Naked Toddler when Stapp and guitarist Mark Tremonti, former high school friends, got together, and started writing songs. They soon added bassist Brian Marshall and drummer Scott Phillips, and changed their name to Creed on Marshall's suggestion.
They then found work at a live music bar, where they impressed the owner Jeff Hanson enough to let them play at one of his bigger stores. Hanson liked the band so much in fact that he convinced producer John Kurzwegg to produce the band. Their first album My Own Prison was independently released, and distributed to Florida radio stations. This drew the attention of several labels that agreed to see the band, only to pass. Dejected, Creed was playing a small gig when Diana Meltzer from Windup heard the group. She had heard their independent album, and after hearing them live, signed the band to her label. After a remix to make it more radio friendly, My Own Prison was re-released by Sony across the country.
